Method and apparatus for providing perspective-based content placement

ABSTRACT

An approach is provided for providing perspective-based content placement. A content placement platform processes and/or facilitates a processing of one or more models of one or more objects associated with a geographical area to cause, at least in part, a decomposition of the one or more models into one or more simplified surfaces. The content placement platform further causes, at least in part, a selection of one or more portions of the one or more simplified surfaces as one or more content placement layers based, at least in part, on one or more viewpoints, with the one or more content placement layers supporting a perspective-based rendering of one or more content items associated with the one or more objects.

BACKGROUND

Service providers and device manufacturers (e.g., wireless, cellular,etc.) are continually challenged to deliver value and convenience toconsumers by, for example, providing compelling network services.Augmented reality is a new type of service that service providers areoffering as device manufacturers develop more powerful devices.Augmented reality refers to a system that mixes the real world withdigital content. In this context, the real world may refer to capturedvideos or images of a geographical area, such live view finder images ofan area, or still images that were previously captured of an area.Digital content may refer to any type of information, such as names,phone numbers, reviews, menus, etc. Augmented reality combines the realworld with the digital content by overlaying the digital content overthe real world. However, current augmented reality systems ignore thethree-dimensional structure of the real world. For example, currentsystems render augmentations that are effectively seen through realworld objects by placing the augmentations based solely on latitude andlongitude positions. Accordingly, such systems lead to an unintuitiveaugmented reality that provides sub-optimal experiences. Serviceproviders and device manufacturers face significant technical challengesin providing augmented reality systems that preserve thethree-dimensional structure of the real world and render augmentationsthat account for such three-dimensional structure.

SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Therefore, there is a need for an approach for providingperspective-based content placement in augmented reality.

According to one embodiment, a method comprises processing and/orfacilitating a processing of one or more models of one or more objectsassociated with a geographical area to cause, at least in part, adecomposition of the one or more models into one or more simplifiedsurfaces. The method also comprises causing, at least in part, aselection of one or more portions of the one or more simplified surfacesas one or more content placement layers based, at least in part, on oneor more viewpoints, with the one or more content placement layerssupporting a perspective-based rendering of one or more content itemsassociated with the one or more objects.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least oneprocessor, and at least one memory including computer program code forone or more computer programs, the at least one memory and the computerprogram code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause, atleast in part, the apparatus to process and/or facilitate a processingof one or more models of one or more objects associated with ageographical area to cause, at least in part, a decomposition of the oneor more models into one or more simplified surfaces. The apparatus isalso caused to select one or more portions of the one or more simplifiedsurfaces as one or more content placement layers based, at least inpart, on one or more viewpoints, with the one or more content placementlayers supporting a perspective-based rendering of one or more contentitems associated with the one or more objects.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable storage mediumcarries one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause, at least in part, anapparatus to process and/or facilitate a processing of one or moremodels of one or more objects associated with a geographical area tocause, at least in part, a decomposition of the one or more models intoone or more simplified surfaces. The apparatus is also caused to selectone or more portions of the one or more simplified surfaces as one ormore content placement layers based, at least in part, on one or moreviewpoints, with the one or more content placement layers supporting aperspective-based rendering of one or more content items associated withthe one or more objects.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises means forprocessing and/or facilitating a processing of one or more models of oneor more objects associated with a geographical area to cause, at leastin part, a decomposition of the one or more models into one or moresimplified surfaces. The apparatus also comprises means for causing, atleast in part, a selection of one or more portions of the one or moresimplified surfaces as one or more content placement layers based, atleast in part, on one or more viewpoints, with the one or more contentplacement layers supporting a perspective-based rendering of one or morecontent items associated with the one or more objects.

In addition, for various example embodiments of the invention, thefollowing is applicable: a method comprising facilitating a processingof and/or processing (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at leastone signal, the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least onesignal based, at least in part, on (or derived at least in part from)any one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in thisapplication as relevant to any embodiment of the invention.

For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is alsoapplicable: a method comprising facilitating access to at least oneinterface configured to allow access to at least one service, the atleast one service configured to perform any one or any combination ofnetwork or service provider methods (or processes) disclosed in thisapplication.

For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is alsoapplicable: a method comprising facilitating creating and/orfacilitating modifying (1) at least one device user interface elementand/or (2) at least one device user interface functionality, the (1) atleast one device user interface element and/or (2) at least one deviceuser interface functionality based, at least in part, on data and/orinformation resulting from one or any combination of methods orprocesses disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment ofthe invention, and/or at least one signal resulting from one or anycombination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this application asrelevant to any embodiment of the invention.

For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is alsoapplicable: a method comprising creating and/or modifying (1) at leastone device user interface element and/or (2) at least one device userinterface functionality, the (1) at least one device user interfaceelement and/or (2) at least one device user interface functionalitybased at least in part on data and/or information resulting from one orany combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this applicationas relevant to any embodiment of the invention, and/or at least onesignal resulting from one or any combination of methods (or processes)disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of theinvention.

In various example embodiments, the methods (or processes) can beaccomplished on the service provider side or on the mobile device sideor in any shared way between service provider and mobile device withactions being performed on both sides.

For various example embodiments, the following is applicable: Anapparatus comprising means for performing the method of any oforiginally filed claims 1-10, 21-30, and 46-48.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention arereadily apparent from the following detailed description, simply byillustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations,including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. Theinvention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and itsseveral details can be modified in various obvious respects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, andnot by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system capable of providing perspective-basedcontent placement, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the components of a content placement platform,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for providing perspective-basedcontent placement, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for decomposing one or more models ofone or more objects associated with a geographical area, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of a process for providingperspective-based content placement, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6A is a diagram of a three-dimensional model of an objectassociated with a geographical area, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6B is a diagram of a three-dimensional model of an objectassociated with a geographical area based on one or more contentplacement layers, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a user interface utilized in the processes ofFIGS. 3-5, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of hardware that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a chip set that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a mobile terminal (e.g., handset) that can beused to implement an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Examples of a method, apparatus, and computer program for providingperspective-based content placement are disclosed. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of theembodiments of the invention. It is apparent, however, to one skilled inthe art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system capable of providing perspective-basedcontent placement, according to one embodiment. As discussed above,augmented reality is a new type of service that service providers areoffering that provides overlaid digital content over the real world toprovide, for example, information associated with the geographical area.However, current augmented reality systems ignore the three-dimensionalstructure of the real world and render augmentations that areeffectively seen through real world objects and do not preserve thethree-dimensional structure of the real world. Such systems, therefore,are unintuitive and provide suboptimal experiences.

The inability of current augmented reality systems to account for thethree-dimensional structure of the real world is based on severalissues. One issue is that the real world structure must be analyzed toaccount for the three dimensions. In practice, such analysis cannot bedone in real time and insufficient information is provided for theanalysis. A pre-computed model of the world is generated from datacollected at a different time. Another issue is aligning the currentuser view with the pre-computed model. Yet another issue is thatdetermining the optimal placement of content for a given view iscomputationally intensive, especially with respect to mobile devices.

To address this problem, a system 100 of FIG. 1 introduces thecapability to generate pre-computed content placement layers that enableoptimal content item placement that maintains the perspective of thereal world. The system 100 allows for the processing of one or moremodels associated with the real world to decompose the models into oneor more simplified surfaces. The simplified surfaces are then analyzedwith respect to one or more viewpoints to select one or more portions ofthe simplified surfaces as one or more content placement layers.Accordingly, the content placement layers support a perspective-basedrendering of one or more content items associated with one or moreobjects of the real world.

In one embodiment, the system 100 allows for the pre-processing of theone or more models independently from a device that is providing theaugmented reality to a user to generate the content placement layers.The generated content placement layers may then be transmitted to thedevice providing the augmented reality as, for example, contentplacement layers metadata. The device may then combine the contentplacement layers with content items to provide the perspective-basedrendering of the augmented reality to provide additional informationwith respect to the geographical area surrounding the device. In oneembodiment, the one or more models may be loaded on the device, and thedevice itself may perform the processing to determine the contentplacement layers prior to, or at the time of, providing the augmentedreality.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 comprises user equipment (UE) 101having connectivity to a content placement platform 103 via acommunication network 105. The UE 101 may include or be associated withone or more applications 111 a-111 n (collectively referred to asapplications 111). The applications 111 may include any application thatmay be executed by the UE 101, such as one or more navigationapplications, map applications, browser applications, calendarapplications, contacts applications, etc. In one embodiment, thefunctions of the content placement platform 103 may be embodied in oneor more applications 111 executed at the UE 101. The UE 101 may alsoinclude or be associated with one or more sensors 115 a-115 n(collectively referred to as sensors 115). The sensors 115 may includeany type of sensor that is compatible with the UE 101, such as a lightsensor, a pressure sensor (e.g., barometer), a motion sensor (e.g.,accelerometer), a location sensor (e.g., GPS), a direction sensor, animage sensor (e.g., camera), a sound sensor (e.g., microphone), etc. Byway of example, the UE 101 may include a camera that allows the UE 101to capture images (e.g., photographs, video), which may be stored at theUE 101 and/or displayed live on a screen associated with the UE 101. Alocation sensor in addition to a direction sensor may allow the UE 101to determine the location of the UE 101 and a direction that the UE 101faces. For example, the location sensor can determine the latitude andlongitude of the UE 101 and the direction sensor can determine thedirection that a camera associated with the UE 101 is facing.Accordingly, the UE 101 can display an augmented reality on a displayassociated with the UE 101 based on the known location and direction ofthe UE 101 in addition to live images or videos acquired by the cameraof the UE 101 of the current geographical area the UE 101.

The system 100 also includes a services platform 107 that provides oneor more services 109 a-109 n (collectively referred to services 109) tocomponents of the system 100. The services 109 may include a widevariety of services, such as content provisioning services thatprovision one or more models, one or more representations of the realworld for augmentation, one or more viewpoints, etc. The services 109may also include navigation services, mapping services, socialnetworking services, location provisioning services, etc. The system 100also includes content providers 113 a-113 n (collectively referred to ascontent providers 113). The content providers 113 may provide content tothe components of the system, such as one or more content items used inproviding the augmented reality, one or more models of one or moreobjects associated with a geographical area, one or more representationsof the real world for augmentation, such as one or three-dimensionalpanoramas, etc.

In one embodiment, the content placement platform 103 may be associatedwith a model/viewpoint database 117. The model/viewpoint database 117may include one or more three-dimensional models used for determiningthe content placement layers, one or more representations of the realworld used for augmentations (e.g., panoramas), and informationassociated with viewpoints. In one embodiment, the information stored inthe model/viewpoint database 117 may be provided rather by one or moreservices 109 and/or one or more content providers 113.

The UE 101 is any type of mobile terminal, fixed terminal, or portableterminal including a mobile handset, station, unit, device, mobilecommunication device, multimedia computer, multimedia tablet, Internetnode, communicator, desktop computer, laptop computer, notebookcomputer, netbook computer, tablet computer, personal communicationsystem (PCS) device, personal navigation device, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), audio/video player, digital camera/camcorder,positioning device, television receiver, radio broadcast receiver,electronic book device, game device, or any combination thereof,including the accessories and peripherals of these devices, or anycombination thereof. It is also contemplated that the UE 101 can supportany type of interface to the user (such as “wearable” circuitry, etc.).

The content placement platform 103 allows for the provisioning ofcontent items within augmented reality by overlaying the content itemsover the real world. The content placement platform 103 processes one ormore three-dimensional models of one or more objects associated with ageographical area to generate a content placement layer that enablesplacement of the content items within the augmented reality whilemaintaining the three-dimensional perspective of the real world. Thus,the content placement platform 103 allows for an intuitive augmentedreality that provides users with the ability to gain an augmentedunderstanding of the geographical surroundings with a uniformperspective of the real world and the content items.

The content placement platform 103 processes the one or more models tocause a decomposition of the one or more models into one or moresimplified surfaces. The content placement platform 103 may use planesto fit the primitives of the one or more models. Where a model mayinclude fine three-dimensional detail associated with the surfaces, thecontent placement platform 103 decomposes the detail into simplifiedsurfaces. By way of example, the front façade of a building representedby a model may include circular columns. Decomposing thethree-dimensional model of the building may decompose multiple circularcolumns into a single rectangular plane. However, the amount ofdecomposition may vary to preserve some degree of the detail presentedby the model.

Upon generating the simplified surfaces, the content placement platform103 causes a selection of one or more portions of the simplifiedsurfaces as one or more content placement layers based, at least inpart, on one or more viewpoints. The viewpoints correspond to one ormore locations associated with the geographical area that a user may belocated while using the augmented reality. Where the augmented realityis associated with a live view finder image (e.g., the camera of the UE101 is rendering a live image of the surrounding geographical area on adisplay associated with the UE 101), the number of viewpoints may belarge and may be based on the current location of the UE 101 as the UE101 moves through the geographical area. Where the augmented reality isassociated with one or more previously captured images, the number ofviewpoints may be small and controlled based on, for example, thelocations at which the images where captured. The selection of theportions of the one or more simplified surfaces for the one or contentplacement layers may be based on the visibility of the portions from thevarious viewpoints. Portions of the simplified surfaces that are visiblefrom one or more viewpoints, or a threshold of viewpoints, may beselected as one or more content placement layers. Portions of thesimplified surfaces that are not visible from one or more viewpoints, ora threshold of viewpoints, may not selected as content placementslayers. The resulting one or more content placement layers support aperspective-based rendering of one or more content items associated withone or more objects. The content items are associated with the contentplacement layers to correspond to the object and preserve theperspective of the model of the object as the user views the augmentedreality.

In one embodiment, the determination of the simplified surfaces may bebased, at least in part, on mesh segmentation, where the meshsegmentation is based, at least in part, on one or more surfaceprimitives. The surface primitives may be any type of surface primitive.In one embodiment, the surface primitive may include one or more planes.The planes may be defined by one or more shapes, such as triangles,squares, hexagons, etc. The content placement layers may be determinedbased on a clustering of the one or more surface primitives. By way ofexample, one or more surface primitives that define a single plane maybe clustered together such that the resulting plane defines a contentplacement layer.

In one embodiment, the content placement layers may be determined basedon a clustering of one or more simplified surfaces, or a combination ofsimplified surfaces and surface primitives. By way of example, threesimplified surfaces that correspond to the front and two sides of amodel of an object may be combined to form a single content placementlayer, such that when a content item is associated with the contentplacement layer, the content item may appear to wrap around the model tocover the front and two sides of the model.

In one embodiment, the content placement platform 103 may determine oneor more representational locations associated with the simplifiedsurfaces. The representational locations may have inherent meaning tiedto the location according to the position of the location with respectto the model or object. Thus, the representational location maydistinguish content items for other content items within the samesimplified surface. By way of example, an object represented by a modelmay be a building that includes a store front on the bottom floor andapartment units on the higher floors. Accordingly, the locationassociated with the bottom floor with respect to the simplified surfacehas a different representation than the locations associated with thehigher floors. Specifically, a content item that is associated with thestore within the bottom floor may be associated with therepresentational location associated with the bottom floor, rather thanthe representational locations associated with the higher floors. Thus,one or more content placement layers may be determined based, at leastin part, on the one or more representational locations.

An additional representational location may be based on, for example,the specific side of the object that the simplified surface represents.For example, significance is generally placed on the front of objects.Accordingly, the content placement platform 103 may place a higherrepresentational significance on a simplified surface that representsthe front of an object, as compared to simplified surfaces thatrepresent the sides and/or rear of the object.

In one embodiment, the content placement platform 103 processessimplified surfaces with respect to the viewpoints to determinevisibility statistics with respect to the simplified surfaces. Thevisibility statistics rank the visibility of the simplified surfacesbased on the various viewpoints. Simplified surfaces that have no or lowvisibility at certain viewpoints receive low visibility statistics, andsimplified surfaces that have high visibility at certain viewpointsreceive high visibility. Factors that affect the visibility scores ofthe simplified surfaces may include, for example, horizontal andvertical distances between the simplified surfaces and the viewpoints,and the sizes of the simplified surfaces. By way of example, asimplified surface that is horizontally close to a viewpoint that alsois vertically far from the viewpoint may receive a poor or lowvisibility statistic because a user at the viewpoint will have adifficult time viewing the surface without having to look straight up.Conversely, a simplified surface that is horizontally far, butvertically close and large in size, may receive a good or highvisibility statistic because a user at the viewpoint will have a goodview of the surface. Based on the visibility statistics of thesimplified surfaces, the content placement platform 103 determines thecontent placement layers.

In one embodiment, the content placement platform 103 processessimplified surfaces with respect to the viewpoints to determine one ormore occluded or non-occluded surfaces with respect to the simplifiedsurfaces. Based on the three-dimensional model, some of the simplifiedsurfaces will become occluded by other simplified surfaces at variousviewpoints. Associating a simplified surface that is occluded by anothersimplified surface with a content placement layer will cause whatevercontent item that is associated with the content placement layer to beincorrectly associated with the occluding simplified surface, ratherthan the occluded simplified surface. Further, although one simplifiedsurface may be non-occluded associated with one viewpoint, the surfacemay become occluded when associated with a different viewpoint.Confusion may result if the surface is determined a content placementlayer with respect to one viewpoint but not with respect to anotherviewpoint because a content item associated with the surface in oneviewpoint will disappear if the user moves to the other viewpoint. Thus,the content placement platform 103 determines content placement layerswith respect to the simplified surfaces based on a determination ofnon-occluded surfaces. In one embodiment, the content placement platform103 attempts to determine at least one non-occluded surface for eachmodel with respect to a set threshold of viewpoints.

Although a simplified surface may have low visibility statistics or maybe occluded, a segment of the surface may have a high visibilitystatistic and may not be occluded. Accordingly, in one embodiment, thecontent placement platform 103 causes a segmentation of one or more ofthe simplified surfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, atleast in part, on the visibility statistics, a determination ofoccluding objects, or a combination thereof. The content placementplatform 103 can then determine content placement layers based on thesegmented surfaces such that simplified surfaces that otherwise wouldnot be selected as content placement layers include segments that areselected as content placement layers.

The communication network 105 of system 100 includes, by way of example,one or more networks such as a data network, a wireless network, atelephony network, or any combination thereof. It is contemplated thatthe data network may be any local area network (LAN), metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), wide area network (WAN), a public data network (e.g., theInternet), short range wireless network, or any other suitablepacket-switched network, such as a commercially owned, proprietarypacket-switched network, e.g., a proprietary cable or fiber-opticnetwork, and the like, or any combination thereof. In addition, thewireless network may be, for example, a cellular network and may employvarious technologies including enhanced data rates for global evolution(EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc., as well as anyother suitable wireless medium, e.g., worldwide interoperability formicrowave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, codedivision multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access(WCDMA), wireless fidelity (WiFi), wireless LAN (WLAN), Bluetooth®, nearfield communication (NFC), Internet Protocol (IP) data casting, digitalradio/television broadcasting, satellite, mobile ad-hoc network (MANET),and the like, or any combination thereof.

By way of example, the UE 101, the content placement platform 103, theservices platform 107, and the content providers 113 communicate witheach other and other components of the communication network 105 usingwell known, new or still developing protocols. In this context, aprotocol includes a set of rules defining how the network nodes withinthe communication network 105 interact with each other based oninformation sent over the communication links. The protocols areeffective at different layers of operation within each node, fromgenerating and receiving physical signals of various types, to selectinga link for transferring those signals, to the format of informationindicated by those signals, to identifying which software applicationexecuting on a computer system sends or receives the information. Theconceptually different layers of protocols for exchanging informationover a network are described in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)Reference Model.

Communications between the network nodes are typically effected byexchanging discrete packets of data. Each packet typically comprises (1)header information associated with a particular protocol, and (2)payload information that follows the header information and containsinformation that may be processed independently of that particularprotocol. In some protocols, the packet includes (3) trailer informationfollowing the payload and indicating the end of the payload information.The header includes information such as the source of the packet, itsdestination, the length of the payload, and other properties used by theprotocol. Often, the data in the payload for the particular protocolincludes a header and payload for a different protocol associated with adifferent, higher layer of the OSI Reference Model. The header for aparticular protocol typically indicates a type for the next protocolcontained in its payload. The higher layer protocol is said to beencapsulated in the lower layer protocol. The headers included in apacket traversing multiple heterogeneous networks, such as the Internet,typically include a physical (layer 1) header, a data-link (layer 2)header, an internetwork (layer 3) header and a transport (layer 4)header, and various application (layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7) headersas defined by the OSI Reference Model.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the components of the content placement platform103, according to one embodiment. By way of example, the contentplacement platform 103 includes one or more components for providingperspective-based content placement. It is contemplated that thefunctions of these components may be combined in one or more componentsor performed by other components of equivalent functionality. Forexample, the functions of these components may be performed by one ormore applications 111 executed at the UE 101. In this embodiment, thecontent placement platform 103 includes a decomposition module 201, arepresentation module 203, a visibility module 205, an occlusion module207, a segmentation module 209, and a rendering module 211.

The decomposition module 201 processes three-dimensional models ofobjects associated with a geographical area to cause, at least in part,a decomposition of the models into simplified surfaces. Thedecomposition module 201 uses one or more mesh segmentation algorithmsto perform the decomposition. In one embodiment, the decompositionmodule 201 uses only planes in fitting surface primitives used in thethree-dimensional modeling. In one embodiment, the decomposition module201 first decomposes a three-dimensional model into nearly regularsurfaces. The decomposition module 201 constructs a hierarchicalsegmentation of the three-dimensional model. The decomposition module201 further analyzes one or more error metrics as the decompositionmodule 201 constructs the hierarchical segmentation. The decompositionmodule 201 analyzes the error as clusters are merged during thehierarchy generation. In one embodiment, the decomposition module 201clips the hierarchy at a threshold number of clusters to prevent theerror from growing. By way of example, the threshold number of clustersmay correspond to 250 clusters. According to some viewpoints, the topsof the models representing objects may not be visible, such as when themodels represent tall buildings and the viewpoint is at the base of thebuilding. In such cases, the roof of the mesh segmentation may bedisregarded and the focus of the mesh segmentation may be on the wallsdefining the buildings. In one embodiment, the decomposition module 201analyzes the dominant direction of the models and seeds the segmentationstarting at planes in these directions. The decomposition module 201 mayalso give preference to final orientations in these directions.

In one embodiment, the content placement platform 103 includes arepresentation module 203. The representation module 203 determines oneor more representational locations of the simplified surfaces based on,for example, the one or more models, the one or more objects representedby the one or more models, or the combination thereof. Therepresentational locations constitute semantically meaningful locationsof the simplified surface. By way of example, the separate floors of anoffice building may include separate tenants, such that representationallocations within the simplified surfaces constitute different contentplacement layers that correspond to the different tenants. Further,certain objects may already be designed for content placement, such assigns on buildings. The representation module 203 may determine withinthe simplified surfaces the representational locations that correspondto the objects (e.g., signs of the buildings) and designate therepresentational locations as content placement layers.

In one embodiment, the representation module 203 may also determine ahierarchy of the simplified surfaces that correspond to a hierarchy ofcontent placement layers, or that designates which of the simplifiedlayers should correspond to content placement layers. By way of example,typically the fronts of objects are provided more meaning than the sidesof objects. Accordingly, labels corresponding to the objects areprovided more weight when the labels visually correspond to the frontsof objects. The representation module may determine the simplifiedsurfaces corresponding to the front, sides, and back, and designate thesimplified surfaces corresponding to the fronts of the models contentplacement layers based on the inherent significance of the location withrespect to the model.

The visibility module 205 determines the visibility statisticsassociated with the simplified surfaces. The visibility module 205determines the one or more viewpoints associated with the simplifiedsurfaces. For the viewpoints associated with the simplified surfaces,the visibility module 205 determines the visibility statistics. Amajority of the building geometry associated with a building is notsuitably visible from the street level. Thus, simplified surfacesassociated with models of buildings not suitably visible from the streetlevel are given low visibility statistics. For simplified surfaces thatare seen, but only portions of the simplified surfaces are seen, thesimplified surfaces may be given low visibility statistics. Further,simplified surfaces that are small relative to other simplifiedsurfaces, or a threshold simplified surface, are provided low visibilitystatistics. In one embodiment, where viewpoints are limited topre-collected panorama locations, simplified surfaces may be dividedinto a regular grid. For each grid cell, the visibility module 205determines the viewpoints associated with the pre-collected panoramalocations that have an un-occluded view of the grid cell to determinethe visibility statistics associated with the simplified surfaces withinthe grid cell.

In one embodiment, the occlusion module 207 determines the simplifiedsurfaces that are non-occluded surfaces. Because changing the positionof the augmentations can be distracting to a user based on adjusting forwhen a content placement layer becomes occluded, the occlusion module207 determines the likelihood the simplified surface is to becomeoccluded as the user moves between viewpoints. Thus, the occlusionmodule 207 can perform processing to determine non-occluded surfaces, aswell as occluding surfaces. The simplified surfaces that correspond tonon-occluded surfaces may be selected as content placement layers, andthe simplified surfaces that correspond to occluded surfaces may bediscarded. In one embodiment, the occlusion module 207 uses a thresholdto determine whether to select a simplified surface as a contentplacement layer based on the number of viewpoints the simplified surfaceis occluded. In one embodiment, the occlusion module 207 may determinethe threshold such that there is at least one content placement layervisible for each provided model and/or object represented by a model.

As discussed above, a simplified surface, as a whole, may not beselected as a content placement layer based on, for example, thevisibility statistics and/or one or more occluding objects. However,segments of the simplified surface may qualify as content placementlayers. Thus, in one embodiment, the content placement platform 103includes a segmentation module 209 that determines simplified surfacesthat may not otherwise qualify as content placement layers and segmentsthe surfaces into one or more segmented surfaces that do qualify ascontent placement layers. For example, a large simplified surface may betoo high vertically with respect to a viewpoint to qualify as a contentplacement layer. However, the bottom segment of the simplified surfacemay qualify as a content placement layer. Accordingly, the segmentationmodule 209 segments the bottom segment of the simplified surface fromthe remainder of the simplified surface and selects the bottom segmentas a content placement layer. The segmentation module 209 may performsubstantially the same process for simplified surfaces that are occludedto generate segmented surfaces that are un-occluded and that areselected as content placement layers.

In one embodiment, the rendering module 211 interfaces with the variousmodules of the content placement platform 103 to collect the contentplacement layers associated with an augmented view of the real world.The rendering module 211 further interfaces with devices (e.g., UE 101)associated with the renderings of the augmented views of the real worldto provide the information (e.g., metadata) associated with the contentplacement layers. The devices may then use the content placement layersto provide a perspective-based rendering of content items within theaugmented reality. By way of example, in one embodiment, a UE 101acquires a live view finder image of a geographical area and may provideinformation to the content placement platform 103 regarding the locationof the UE 101, and may also provide the direction the camera of the UE101 is currently facing. The content placement platform 103 by way of,for example, the rendering module 211 may then provide the UE 101 withthe information (e.g., metadata) associated with the content placementlayers. The UE 101 may then apply the content placement layers to thelive view finder image in combination with content items to provideinformation associated with the geographical area displayed in the liveview finder image while maintaining the three-dimensional perspective ofthe augmented reality relative to the content items. In one embodimentwhere the content placement platform 103 is embodied in one or moreapplications 111 running on the UE 101, the one or more applicationsperforming the functions of the content placement platform 103 maysimply interface with one or more applications 111 associated with thelive view finder image of the surrounding geographical area to providethe content placement layers, as discussed above. In such an example,the UE 101 may perform the processing of the one or more models todetermine the content placement layers.

In one embodiment, the rendering module 211 may provide a completerendering of the augmented real world with content items associated withthe content placement layers to devices. In such a scenario, the devicesinteracting with the content placement platform 103 perform little to noprocessing associated with determining the content placement layers.Rather, the devices may merely display the information provided from thecontent placement platform 103 that has performed pre-processing togenerate a rendered augmented reality complete with content items withincontent placement layers. By way of example, an application 111 on theUE 101 accesses a service 109 a that provides views associated with ageographical area that are augmented by the content placement platform103 with content items and rendered by the rendering module 211,complete with, for example, a previously captured three-dimensionalpanorama of an area overlaid with content placement layers filled withcontent items. The service 109 a may provide the complete augmentedreality to the UE 101 in the form of a three-dimensional panorama. Thethree-dimensional panorama may then be displayed on the display of theUE 101 and may be modified according to the current direction of the UE101. For example, as the user of the UE 101 uses the application 111 topan around the panorama (e.g., for example by physically moving the UE101 with respect to the surroundings), as the augmented reality pansaccording to the movements the information associated with the contentplacement layers modifies the content items to preserve the perspectiveof the augmented real world.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for providing perspective-basedcontent placement, according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, thecontent placement platform 103 performs the process 300 and isimplemented in, for instance, a chip set including a processor and amemory as shown in FIG. 9. In step 301, the content placement platform103 processes one or more models of one or more objects associated witha geographical area to cause, at least in part, a decomposition of theone or more models into one or more simplified surfaces. The one or moremodels are three-dimensional models of the one or more objects. Theobjects may correspond to any object that may be found in a geographicalarea, such as buildings, signs, streets, terraces, parks, naturalobjects (e.g., cliffs, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, hills, mountains,etc.). In one embodiment, the models are decomposed into nearly planar,regular surfaces. However, in one embodiment, the models may bedecomposed into other simplified surfaces that may, for example,maintain to some degree three-dimensional features of the models. By wayof example, the simplified surface may follow the pattern of a façade onthe exterior of the building, such as columns. The decomposition occursas discussed above with respect to the decomposition module 201.

In step 303, the content placement platform 103 causes, at least inpart, a selection of one or more portions of the one or more simplifiedsurfaces as one or more content placement layers based, at least inpart, on one or more viewpoints. In one embodiment, where the augmentedreality is based on previously created/captured images, the one or moreviewpoints may constitute designated viewpoints of the geographicalarea. The viewpoints may constitute the locations from where thepreviously captured images where created. In one embodiment, thepreviously captured images may include one or more panoramas. In oneembodiment, the previously created images may include athree-dimensional model of the geographical area represented intwo-dimensions, and the viewpoints may be designated viewpoints with thethree-dimensional model or may be any point within the three-dimensionalmodel. In one embodiment, where the augmented reality is based on a liveimage view finder, the one or more viewpoints may constitute any pointwithin the three-dimensional model.

The content placement platform 103 selects the content placement layersbased on the simplified surfaces according to processing with respect tothe viewpoints to support a perspective-based rendering of one or morecontent items associated with the one or more objects. Accordingly,content items may be rendered in an augmented rendering of the realworld in a perspective-based framework that considers thethree-dimensional structure of the real world that results in anintuitive based system. By way of example, the content placement layerscause associated content items to appear as if they are part of theaugmented reality by preserving the perspective of the reality.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for providing perspective-basedcontent placement, according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, thecontent placement platform 103 performs the process 400 and isimplemented in, for instance, a chip set including a processor and amemory as shown in FIG. 9. In step 401, the content placement platform103 determines the one or more simplified surfaces based, at least inpart, on mesh segmentation. The content placement platform 103 uses oneor more mesh segmentation algorithms to perform the decomposition togenerate nearly regular simplified surfaces. However, in one embodiment,the simplified surfaces do not need to be regular surfaces, such as whenthe simplified surfaces maintain some level of definition of theoriginal surface in the three-dimensional model. The mesh segmentationmay based, at least in part, on one or more surface primitives. Thesurface primitives may correspond to one or more planes defined byvarious shapes including, for example, triangles, squares, rectangles,hexagons, etc.

Further, the content placement platform 103 constructs a hierarchicalsegmentation of the three-dimensional model. The content placementplatform 103 further analyzes one or more error metrics as the contentplacement platform 103 constructs the hierarchical segmentation. Thecontent placement platform 103 analyzes the error as clusters are mergedduring the hierarchy generation. In one embodiment, the contentplacement platform 103 clips the hierarchy at a threshold number ofclusters to prevent the error from growing. By way of example, thethreshold number of clusters may correspond to 250 clusters. Accordingto some viewpoints, the tops of the models representing the objects maynot be visible, such as when the models represent tall buildings and theviewpoint is at the base of the building. In such cases, the roof of themesh segmentation may be disregarded and the focus of the meshsegmentation may be on the walls defining the buildings. In oneembodiment, the content placement platform 103 analyzes the dominantdirection of the models and seeds the segmentation starting at planes inthese directions. The content placement platform 103 may also givepreference to final orientations in these directions.

In step 403, the content placement platform 103 determines one or morecontent placement layers based, at least in part, on a clustering of theone or more surface primitives, the one or more simplified surfaces, ora combination thereof. The content placement platform 103 may determinea cluster of surface primitives that may be combined to generate onesimplified surface. For example, the cluster of surface primitives thatform the front of a building may be clustered and abstracted to form aplanar simplified surface that corresponds to the front of the building.The generated simplified surface may then be selected as a contentplacement layer. In one embodiment, the content placement platform 103combines three simplified surfaces that correspond to the front and twosides of a model of an object to form a single content placement layer,such that when a content item is associated with the content placementlayer, the content item may warp around the model to cover the front andtwo sides of the model.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a detailed process for providingperspective-based content placement, according to one embodiment. In oneembodiment, the content placement platform 103 performs the process 500and is implemented in, for instance, a chip set including a processorand a memory as shown in FIG. 9. However, as discussed above, theprocess 500 may also be implemented by one or more applications 111executed at a UE 101. In step 501, the content placement platform 103decomposes one or models into one or more simplified surfaces, asdiscussed above. Then, in step 503, the content placement platform 103may process the one or more models, the one or more objects representedby the one or more models, or a combination thereof to determine one ormore representational locations associated with the one or moresimplified surfaces. As discussed above, one or more locations of asimplified surface may have one or more meanings For example, the frontof a building may have a different, more significant, meaning than thesides or rear of the building. Further, various sections of an object,such as a building, may have various different meanings For example, thefirst floor may be associated with a store front, while the remainingfloors may be associated with apartment units. Thus, the portion of thesimplified surface that corresponds to the location of the store frontmay have a different meaning than the portion of the simplified surfacethat corresponds to the locations of the apartment units. Accordingly,the content placement platform 103 may determine one or morerepresentational locations associated with the simplified surfaces togenerate one or more content placement layers that will inherentlyinclude the meaning of the representational locations.

In step 505, the content placement platform 103 processes one or moresimplified surfaces with respect to one or more viewpoints to determinevisibility statistics with respect to the one or more simplifiedsurfaces. As discussed above, depending on the orientation and/orperspective of the simplified surfaces with respect to the viewpoints,the simplified surfaces may have different visibility statistics basedon the ability of a viewer at one of the viewpoints to see thesimplified surfaces. Where viewpoints are limited based on therepresentation of the augmented real world being based on, for example,pre-collected panoramas collected at panorama locations, simplifiedsurfaces are divided into a regular grid, and for each grid cell,statistics are generated for the simplified surfaces based on whatviewpoints have an un-occluded view of the panorama. Where viewpointsare nearly unlimited based on the representation of the augmented realworld being based on, for example, a live view finder image, thedetermination of the visibility statistics may be performed live basedon, for example, line of sight determinations with respect to thevarious simplified surfaces.

In step 507, the content placement platform 103 causes, at least inpart, a segmentation of one or more of the one or more simplifiedsurfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, at least in part, onthe visibility statistics. The content placement platform 103 is able togenerate one or more segmented surfaces from a simplified surface thatis not selected as a content placement layer based the visibilitystatistics, where the segmented surface is associated with a visibilitystatistics that would result in having the segmented surface selected asa content placement layer.

In step 509, the content placement platform 103 processes one or moresimplified surfaces with respect to the one or more viewpoints todetermine one or more non-occluded surfaces. Determining non-occludedsurfaces based on the simplified surfaces results in content placementlayers that are viewable from many different angles without having tomove the content placement layers, thus leading to a more intuitiveaugmentation. In one embodiment, where the number of viewpoints is largebased on the augmentation being associated with a live image (e.g.,nearly infinite viewpoints), the content placement platform 103 maydetermine a threshold of occlusions of the simplified surfaces anddetermine the one or more non-occluded surfaces based on the simplifiedsurfaces satisfying the threshold. Accordingly, despite the large numberof viewpoints and resulting possibility of finding a viewpoint thatincludes an occlusion of nearly every surface of a building, the contentplacement platform 103 will still determine one or more surfaces of amodel as being non-occluded. For example, the content placement platform103 may set the threshold such that every model is associated with atleast one content placement layer. Where the number of viewpoints issmaller based on the augmentation being associated with a set number ofpre-determined viewpoints, models may be associated with multiplenon-occluded surfaces.

In step 511, the content placement platform 103 may determine one ormore occluding objects associated with the one or more viewpoints thatoccluded one or more of the simplified surfaces. Then, in step 513, thecontent placement platform 103 causes, at least in part, a segmentationof one or more of the one or more simplified surfaces consideredoccluded surfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, at least inpart, on the occluding objects. The content placement platform 103 isable to generate one or more segmented surfaces from a simplifiedsurface that is not selected as a content placement layer based theoccluding object, where the segmented surface would be considered anon-occluded object because the occluding object does not occlude thespecific segment of the simplified surface.

In step 515, the content placement platform 103 determines one or morecontent placement layers based on one or more the representationallocations, the visibility statistics, the occluded surfaces, thesegmented surfaces based the visibility statistics, and the segmentedsurfaces based on the occluding objects. After determining the contentplacement layers, the content placement platform 103 may transfer theinformation associated with the content placement layers to anyone ormore of the UE 101, one or more services 109, and/or any other componentassociated with the system 100 for providing perspective-based contentplacement in augmented reality systems. By way of example, a UE 101 thatis currently acquiring a live view finder image of a surroundinggeographical area may receive information in the form of metadata thatincludes the content placement layers associated with the geographicalarea that are determined based on pre-processing by the contentplacement platform 103 with respect to the viewpoint associated with thecurrent location of the UE 101. The UE 101 may then associate thecontent placement layers with the live view finder image and contentitems associated with the geographical area to provide additionalinformation with respect to the geographical area while maintaining theperspective of the three-dimensional geographical area.

FIG. 6A is a diagram of a three-dimensional model 601 of an objectassociated with a geographical area, according to one embodiment. By wayof example, the model 601 may represent a building that is part of ageographical area. A user of the UE 101 may be in the geographical areawhile using an augmented reality application 111 a running on the UE 101to gain more information about the area. The augmented realityapplication 111 a may interface with one or more services 109 and/or thecontent placement platform 103 directly to provide the augmentation ofthe real world, or at least provide information concerning contentplacement layers for providing content items within the augmentedreality that preserve the perspective of the augmentation. The model 601may be comprised of multiple surface primitives. As illustrated in FIG.6A, the surface primitives are in the shape of planar triangles. Asillustrated, the three-dimensional model has non-regular surfaces that,for example, accurately match the shape of the building represented bythe model.

FIG. 6B is a diagram of a three-dimensional model of an objectassociated with a geographical area based on one or more contentplacement layers, according to one embodiment. After the contentplacement platform 103 processes the model 601 illustrated in FIG. 6Aaccording to one or more of the above described processes, the contentplacement platform 103 decomposes the model 601 into the one or moreillustrated content placement layers 603. The content placement layers603 are based on, for example, the simplified surfaces generated fromthe decomposition of the model 601 that satisfy one or more visibilitystatistics thresholds, constitute non-occluded surfaces, are based onone or more representational locations, and/or based on one or moresegments of the simplified surfaces, as discussed above. The contentplacement layers 603 represent locations associated with the objectswhere content items may be placed to provide additional informationwithin the augmentation while preserving the three-dimensional aspect ofthe augmentation in an intuitive manner.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a user interface 701 utilized in the processes ofFIGS. 3-5, according to one embodiment. The user interface 701 may beassociated with, for example, one or more mapping applications 111executed at the UE 101. In one embodiment, the user interface 701further may be associated with a live view finder image of thesurrounding geographical area of the UE 101. In one embodiment, the userinterface 701 may be associated with a pre-collected three-dimensionalpanorama of the geographical area surrounding the UE 101 represented intwo dimensions on a display associated with the UE 101.

The user interface 701 includes four content items 703 a-703 d renderedin the augmentation according to four content placement layers(corresponding to the areas of the content items 703 a-703 d). Asdiscussed above, the content placement layers were determined based, atleast in part, on a viewpoint (e.g., the intersection of Powell andPost) and one or more representational locations. Focusing on thecontent item 703 a, the content item 703 a is provided in aperspective-based rendering of one or more content items associated withone or more objects included in the augmented reality (e.g., the officebuildings) based on the corresponding content placement layer. Forexample, the perspective of the content item 703 a matches theperspective of the building associated with the content item (e.g., SaksFifth Avenue® building). Thus, the content item appears, for example, tobe attached to the side of the building. As the perspective of thebuilding changes in response to one or more actions to change the viewof the UE 101, the perspective of the content item 703 a will alsochange to maintain the appearance of the content item 703 a beingattached to the side of the building. Additionally, the content item 703a is associated with the first floor of the building because, forexample, only the first floor of the building may be occupied by thesubject of the content item (e.g., Saks Fifth Avenue®). For example, thecontent placement platform 103 determined that the portion of thesimplified surface (that corresponds to the surface of the building)associated with the first floor is a representational location of thestore Saks Fifth Avenue®. Thus, the portion of the simplified surfaceassociated with the first floor was designated a content placement layerand associated with the item specific to Saks Fifth Avenue®.

With respect to content item 703 b, the content item 703 b may beassociated with a coffee shop located in the building associated withthe item. Because not all of the building is visible from theillustrated viewpoint, content item 703 b is illustrated as being at thetop of the building. For example, the content placement platform 103 mayhave determined the content placement layer associated with content item703 b based on a determination that at least a segment of the simplifiedsurface generated from the decomposition of the three-dimensional model.Further, with respect to content item 703 c, the content item 703 c maybe associated with a restaurant located in the building associated withthe item. The content item 703 c may be associated with a contentplacement layer as illustrated based on the high location of the contentplacement layer relative to the street. For example, the contentplacement platform 103 may have determined a simplified surface withrespect to the decomposed model of the building had high visibilitystatistics based on the vertical height with respect to the viewpoint.Accordingly, the content placement platform 103 selected the simplifiedsurface as a content placement layer. Further, with respect to thecontent item 703 d, the content placement platform 103 also may havedetermined that the simplified surface associated with the content item703 d had high visibility statistics based on, for example, a clear lineof sight existing between the viewpoint and the simplified surface.Accordingly, the content placement platform 103 selected the simplifiedsurface as a content placement layer and associated the content item 703d with the layer.

The processes described herein for providing perspective-based contentplacement may be advantageously implemented via software, hardware,firmware or a combination of software and/or firmware and/or hardware.For example, the processes described herein, may be advantageouslyimplemented via processor(s), Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable GateArrays (FPGAs), etc. Such exemplary hardware for performing thedescribed functions is detailed below.

FIG. 8 illustrates a computer system 800 upon which an embodiment of theinvention may be implemented. Although computer system 800 is depictedwith respect to a particular device or equipment, it is contemplatedthat other devices or equipment (e.g., network elements, servers, etc.)within FIG. 8 can deploy the illustrated hardware and components ofsystem 800. Computer system 800 is programmed (e.g., via computerprogram code or instructions) to provide perspective-based contentplacement as described herein and includes a communication mechanismsuch as a bus 810 for passing information between other internal andexternal components of the computer system 800. Information (also calleddata) is represented as a physical expression of a measurablephenomenon, typically electric voltages, but including, in otherembodiments, such phenomena as magnetic, electromagnetic, pressure,chemical, biological, molecular, atomic, sub-atomic and quantuminteractions. For example, north and south magnetic fields, or a zeroand non-zero electric voltage, represent two states (0, 1) of a binarydigit (bit). Other phenomena can represent digits of a higher base. Asuperposition of multiple simultaneous quantum states before measurementrepresents a quantum bit (qubit). A sequence of one or more digitsconstitutes digital data that is used to represent a number or code fora character. In some embodiments, information called analog data isrepresented by a near continuum of measurable values within a particularrange. Computer system 800, or a portion thereof, constitutes a meansfor performing one or more steps of providing perspective-based contentplacement.

A bus 810 includes one or more parallel conductors of information sothat information is transferred quickly among devices coupled to the bus810. One or more processors 802 for processing information are coupledwith the bus 810.

A processor (or multiple processors) 802 performs a set of operations oninformation as specified by computer program code related to providingperspective-based content placement. The computer program code is a setof instructions or statements providing instructions for the operationof the processor and/or the computer system to perform specifiedfunctions. The code, for example, may be written in a computerprogramming language that is compiled into a native instruction set ofthe processor. The code may also be written directly using the nativeinstruction set (e.g., machine language). The set of operations includebringing information in from the bus 810 and placing information on thebus 810. The set of operations also typically include comparing two ormore units of information, shifting positions of units of information,and combining two or more units of information, such as by addition ormultiplication or logical operations like OR, exclusive OR (XOR), andAND. Each operation of the set of operations that can be performed bythe processor is represented to the processor by information calledinstructions, such as an operation code of one or more digits. Asequence of operations to be executed by the processor 802, such as asequence of operation codes, constitute processor instructions, alsocalled computer system instructions or, simply, computer instructions.Processors may be implemented as mechanical, electrical, magnetic,optical, chemical or quantum components, among others, alone or incombination.

Computer system 800 also includes a memory 804 coupled to bus 810. Thememory 804, such as a random access memory (RAM) or any other dynamicstorage device, stores information including processor instructions forproviding perspective-based content placement. Dynamic memory allowsinformation stored therein to be changed by the computer system 800. RAMallows a unit of information stored at a location called a memoryaddress to be stored and retrieved independently of information atneighboring addresses. The memory 804 is also used by the processor 802to store temporary values during execution of processor instructions.The computer system 800 also includes a read only memory (ROM) 806 orany other static storage device coupled to the bus 810 for storingstatic information, including instructions, that is not changed by thecomputer system 800. Some memory is composed of volatile storage thatloses the information stored thereon when power is lost. Also coupled tobus 810 is a non-volatile (persistent) storage device 808, such as amagnetic disk, optical disk or flash card, for storing information,including instructions, that persists even when the computer system 800is turned off or otherwise loses power.

Information, including instructions for providing perspective-basedcontent placement, is provided to the bus 810 for use by the processorfrom an external input device 812, such as a keyboard containingalphanumeric keys operated by a human user, a microphone, an Infrared(IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, a touchscreen, or a sensor. A sensor detects conditions in its vicinity andtransforms those detections into physical expression compatible with themeasurable phenomenon used to represent information in computer system800. Other external devices coupled to bus 810, used primarily forinteracting with humans, include a display device 814, such as a cathoderay tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode(LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a plasma screen, or aprinter for presenting text or images, and a pointing device 816, suchas a mouse, a trackball, cursor direction keys, or a motion sensor, forcontrolling a position of a small cursor image presented on the display814 and issuing commands associated with graphical elements presented onthe display 814. In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments inwhich the computer system 800 performs all functions automaticallywithout human input, one or more of external input device 812, displaydevice 814 and pointing device 816 is omitted.

In the illustrated embodiment, special purpose hardware, such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 820, is coupled to bus810. The special purpose hardware is configured to perform operationsnot performed by processor 802 quickly enough for special purposes.Examples of ASICs include graphics accelerator cards for generatingimages for display 814, cryptographic boards for encrypting anddecrypting messages sent over a network, speech recognition, andinterfaces to special external devices, such as robotic arms and medicalscanning equipment that repeatedly perform some complex sequence ofoperations that are more efficiently implemented in hardware.

Computer system 800 also includes one or more instances of acommunications interface 870 coupled to bus 810. Communication interface870 provides a one-way or two-way communication coupling to a variety ofexternal devices that operate with their own processors, such asprinters, scanners and external disks. In general the coupling is with anetwork link 878 that is connected to a local network 880 to which avariety of external devices with their own processors are connected. Forexample, communication interface 870 may be a parallel port or a serialport or a universal serial bus (USB) port on a personal computer. Insome embodiments, communications interface 870 is an integrated servicesdigital network (ISDN) card or a digital subscriber line (DSL) card or atelephone modem that provides an information communication connection toa corresponding type of telephone line. In some embodiments, acommunication interface 870 is a cable modem that converts signals onbus 810 into signals for a communication connection over a coaxial cableor into optical signals for a communication connection over a fiberoptic cable. As another example, communications interface 870 may be alocal area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connectionto a compatible LAN, such as Ethernet. Wireless links may also beimplemented. For wireless links, the communications interface 870 sendsor receives or both sends and receives electrical, acoustic orelectromagnetic signals, including infrared and optical signals, thatcarry information streams, such as digital data. For example, inwireless handheld devices, such as mobile telephones like cell phones,the communications interface 870 includes a radio band electromagnetictransmitter and receiver called a radio transceiver. In certainembodiments, the communications interface 870 enables connection to thecommunication network 105 for providing perspective-based contentplacement to the UE 101.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing information to processor 802, includinginstructions for execution. Such a medium may take many forms,including, but not limited to computer-readable storage medium (e.g.,non-volatile media, volatile media), and transmission media.Non-transitory media, such as non-volatile media, include, for example,optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 808. Volatile mediainclude, for example, dynamic memory 804. Transmission media include,for example, twisted pair cables, coaxial cables, copper wire, fiberoptic cables, and carrier waves that travel through space without wiresor cables, such as acoustic waves and electromagnetic waves, includingradio, optical and infrared waves. Signals include man-made transientvariations in amplitude, frequency, phase, polarization or otherphysical properties transmitted through the transmission media. Commonforms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, aflexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, aCD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape,optical mark sheets, any other physical medium with patterns of holes orother optically recognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, any other memory chip orcartridge, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer canread. The term computer-readable storage medium is used herein to referto any computer-readable medium except transmission media.

Logic encoded in one or more tangible media includes one or both ofprocessor instructions on a computer-readable storage media and specialpurpose hardware, such as ASIC 820.

Network link 878 typically provides information communication usingtransmission media through one or more networks to other devices thatuse or process the information. For example, network link 878 mayprovide a connection through local network 880 to a host computer 882 orto equipment 884 operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPequipment 884 in turn provides data communication services through thepublic, world-wide packet-switching communication network of networksnow commonly referred to as the Internet 890.

A computer called a server host 892 connected to the Internet hosts aprocess that provides a service in response to information received overthe Internet. For example, server host 892 hosts a process that providesinformation representing video data for presentation at display 814. Itis contemplated that the components of system 800 can be deployed invarious configurations within other computer systems, e.g., host 882 andserver 892.

At least some embodiments of the invention are related to the use ofcomputer system 800 for implementing some or all of the techniquesdescribed herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, thosetechniques are performed by computer system 800 in response to processor802 executing one or more sequences of one or more processorinstructions contained in memory 804. Such instructions, also calledcomputer instructions, software and program code, may be read intomemory 804 from another computer-readable medium such as storage device808 or network link 878. Execution of the sequences of instructionscontained in memory 804 causes processor 802 to perform one or more ofthe method steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hardware,such as ASIC 820, may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the inventionare not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software,unless otherwise explicitly stated herein.

The signals transmitted over network link 878 and other networks throughcommunications interface 870, carry information to and from computersystem 800. Computer system 800 can send and receive information,including program code, through the networks 880, 890 among others,through network link 878 and communications interface 870. In an exampleusing the Internet 890, a server host 892 transmits program code for aparticular application, requested by a message sent from computer 800,through Internet 890, ISP equipment 884, local network 880 andcommunications interface 870. The received code may be executed byprocessor 802 as it is received, or may be stored in memory 804 or instorage device 808 or any other non-volatile storage for laterexecution, or both. In this manner, computer system 800 may obtainapplication program code in the form of signals on a carrier wave.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequence of instructions or data or both to processor 802 forexecution. For example, instructions and data may initially be carriedon a magnetic disk of a remote computer such as host 882. The remotecomputer loads the instructions and data into its dynamic memory andsends the instructions and data over a telephone line using a modem. Amodem local to the computer system 800 receives the instructions anddata on a telephone line and uses an infra-red transmitter to convertthe instructions and data to a signal on an infra-red carrier waveserving as the network link 878. An infrared detector serving ascommunications interface 870 receives the instructions and data carriedin the infrared signal and places information representing theinstructions and data onto bus 810. Bus 810 carries the information tomemory 804 from which processor 802 retrieves and executes theinstructions using some of the data sent with the instructions. Theinstructions and data received in memory 804 may optionally be stored onstorage device 808, either before or after execution by the processor802.

FIG. 9 illustrates a chip set or chip 900 upon which an embodiment ofthe invention may be implemented. Chip set 900 is programmed to provideperspective-based content placement as described herein and includes,for instance, the processor and memory components described with respectto FIG. 8 incorporated in one or more physical packages (e.g., chips).By way of example, a physical package includes an arrangement of one ormore materials, components, and/or wires on a structural assembly (e.g.,a baseboard) to provide one or more characteristics such as physicalstrength, conservation of size, and/or limitation of electricalinteraction. It is contemplated that in certain embodiments the chip set900 can be implemented in a single chip. It is further contemplated thatin certain embodiments the chip set or chip 900 can be implemented as asingle “system on a chip.” It is further contemplated that in certainembodiments a separate ASIC would not be used, for example, and that allrelevant functions as disclosed herein would be performed by a processoror processors. Chip set or chip 900, or a portion thereof, constitutes ameans for performing one or more steps of providing user interfacenavigation information associated with the availability of functions.Chip set or chip 900, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means forperforming one or more steps of providing perspective-based contentplacement.

In one embodiment, the chip set or chip 900 includes a communicationmechanism such as a bus 901 for passing information among the componentsof the chip set 900. A processor 903 has connectivity to the bus 901 toexecute instructions and process information stored in, for example, amemory 905. The processor 903 may include one or more processing coreswith each core configured to perform independently. A multi-coreprocessor enables multiprocessing within a single physical package.Examples of a multi-core processor include two, four, eight, or greaternumbers of processing cores. Alternatively or in addition, the processor903 may include one or more microprocessors configured in tandem via thebus 901 to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, andmultithreading. The processor 903 may also be accompanied with one ormore specialized components to perform certain processing functions andtasks such as one or more digital signal processors (DSP) 907, or one ormore application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) 909. A DSP 907typically is configured to process real-world signals (e.g., sound) inreal time independently of the processor 903. Similarly, an ASIC 909 canbe configured to performed specialized functions not easily performed bya more general purpose processor. Other specialized components to aid inperforming the inventive functions described herein may include one ormore field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), one or more controllers, orone or more other special-purpose computer chips.

In one embodiment, the chip set or chip 900 includes merely one or moreprocessors and some software and/or firmware supporting and/or relatingto and/or for the one or more processors.

The processor 903 and accompanying components have connectivity to thememory 905 via the bus 901. The memory 905 includes both dynamic memory(e.g., RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) and staticmemory (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executable instructionsthat when executed perform the inventive steps described herein toprovide perspective-based content placement. The memory 905 also storesthe data associated with or generated by the execution of the inventivesteps.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of exemplary components of a mobile terminal (e.g.,handset) for communications, which is capable of operating in the systemof FIG. 1, according to one embodiment. In some embodiments, mobileterminal 1001, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performingone or more steps of providing perspective-based content placement.Generally, a radio receiver is often defined in terms of front-end andback-end characteristics. The front-end of the receiver encompasses allof the Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry whereas the back-end encompassesall of the base-band processing circuitry. As used in this application,the term “circuitry” refers to both: (1) hardware-only implementations(such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry), and(2) to combinations of circuitry and software (and/or firmware) (suchas, if applicable to the particular context, to a combination ofprocessor(s), including digital signal processor(s), software, andmemory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobilephone or server, to perform various functions). This definition of“circuitry” applies to all uses of this term in this application,including in any claims. As a further example, as used in thisapplication and if applicable to the particular context, the term“circuitry” would also cover an implementation of merely a processor (ormultiple processors) and its (or their) accompanying software/orfirmware. The term “circuitry” would also cover if applicable to theparticular context, for example, a baseband integrated circuit orapplications processor integrated circuit in a mobile phone or a similarintegrated circuit in a cellular network device or other networkdevices.

Pertinent internal components of the telephone include a Main ControlUnit (MCU) 1003, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 1005, and areceiver/transmitter unit including a microphone gain control unit and aspeaker gain control unit. A main display unit 1007 provides a displayto the user in support of various applications and mobile terminalfunctions that perform or support the steps of providingperspective-based content placement. The display 1007 includes displaycircuitry configured to display at least a portion of a user interfaceof the mobile terminal (e.g., mobile telephone). Additionally, thedisplay 1007 and display circuitry are configured to facilitate usercontrol of at least some functions of the mobile terminal. An audiofunction circuitry 1009 includes a microphone 1011 and microphoneamplifier that amplifies the speech signal output from the microphone1011. The amplified speech signal output from the microphone 1011 is fedto a coder/decoder (CODEC) 1013.

A radio section 1015 amplifies power and converts frequency in order tocommunicate with a base station, which is included in a mobilecommunication system, via antenna 1017. The power amplifier (PA) 1019and the transmitter/modulation circuitry are operationally responsive tothe MCU 1003, with an output from the PA 1019 coupled to the duplexer1021 or circulator or antenna switch, as known in the art. The PA 1019also couples to a battery interface and power control unit 1020.

In use, a user of mobile terminal 1001 speaks into the microphone 1011and his or her voice along with any detected background noise isconverted into an analog voltage. The analog voltage is then convertedinto a digital signal through the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)1023. The control unit 1003 routes the digital signal into the DSP 1005for processing therein, such as speech encoding, channel encoding,encrypting, and interleaving. In one embodiment, the processed voicesignals are encoded, by units not separately shown, using a cellulartransmission protocol such as enhanced data rates for global evolution(EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc., as well as anyother suitable wireless medium, e.g., microwave access (WiMAX), LongTerm Evolution (LTE) networks, code division multiple access (CDMA),wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), wireless fidelity(WiFi), satellite, and the like, or any combination thereof.

The encoded signals are then routed to an equalizer 1025 forcompensation of any frequency-dependent impairments that occur duringtransmission though the air such as phase and amplitude distortion.After equalizing the bit stream, the modulator 1027 combines the signalwith a RF signal generated in the RF interface 1029. The modulator 1027generates a sine wave by way of frequency or phase modulation. In orderto prepare the signal for transmission, an up-converter 1031 combinesthe sine wave output from the modulator 1027 with another sine wavegenerated by a synthesizer 1033 to achieve the desired frequency oftransmission. The signal is then sent through a PA 1019 to increase thesignal to an appropriate power level. In practical systems, the PA 1019acts as a variable gain amplifier whose gain is controlled by the DSP1005 from information received from a network base station. The signalis then filtered within the duplexer 1021 and optionally sent to anantenna coupler 1035 to match impedances to provide maximum powertransfer. Finally, the signal is transmitted via antenna 1017 to a localbase station. An automatic gain control (AGC) can be supplied to controlthe gain of the final stages of the receiver. The signals may beforwarded from there to a remote telephone which may be another cellulartelephone, any other mobile phone or a land-line connected to a PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other telephony networks.

Voice signals transmitted to the mobile terminal 1001 are received viaantenna 1017 and immediately amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA)1037. A down-converter 1039 lowers the carrier frequency while thedemodulator 1041 strips away the RF leaving only a digital bit stream.The signal then goes through the equalizer 1025 and is processed by theDSP 1005. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) 1043 converts the signaland the resulting output is transmitted to the user through the speaker1045, all under control of a Main Control Unit (MCU) 1003 which can beimplemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The MCU 1003 receives various signals including input signals from thekeyboard 1047. The keyboard 1047 and/or the MCU 1003 in combination withother user input components (e.g., the microphone 1011) comprise a userinterface circuitry for managing user input. The MCU 1003 runs a userinterface software to facilitate user control of at least some functionsof the mobile terminal 1001 to provide perspective-based contentplacement. The MCU 1003 also delivers a display command and a switchcommand to the display 1007 and to the speech output switchingcontroller, respectively. Further, the MCU 1003 exchanges informationwith the DSP 1005 and can access an optionally incorporated SIM card1049 and a memory 1051. In addition, the MCU 1003 executes variouscontrol functions required of the terminal. The DSP 1005 may, dependingupon the implementation, perform any of a variety of conventionaldigital processing functions on the voice signals. Additionally, DSP1005 determines the background noise level of the local environment fromthe signals detected by microphone 1011 and sets the gain of microphone1011 to a level selected to compensate for the natural tendency of theuser of the mobile terminal 1001.

The CODEC 1013 includes the ADC 1023 and DAC 1043. The memory 1051stores various data including call incoming tone data and is capable ofstoring other data including music data received via, e.g., the globalInternet. The software module could reside in RAM memory, flash memory,registers, or any other form of writable storage medium known in theart. The memory device 1051 may be, but not limited to, a single memory,CD, DVD, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, optical storage, magnetic disk storage, flashmemory storage, or any other non-volatile storage medium capable ofstoring digital data.

An optionally incorporated SIM card 1049 carries, for instance,important information, such as the cellular phone number, the carriersupplying service, subscription details, and security information. TheSIM card 1049 serves primarily to identify the mobile terminal 1001 on aradio network. The card 1049 also contains a memory for storing apersonal telephone number registry, text messages, and user specificmobile terminal settings.

While the invention has been described in connection with a number ofembodiments and implementations, the invention is not so limited butcovers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements, whichfall within the purview of the appended claims. Although features of theinvention are expressed in certain combinations among the claims, it iscontemplated that these features can be arranged in any combination andorder.

1. A method comprising facilitating a processing of and/or processing(1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least one signal, the (1)data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least one signal based, atleast in part, on the following: a processing of one or more models ofone or more objects associated with a geographical area to cause, atleast in part, a decomposition of the one or more models into one ormore simplified surfaces; and a selection of one or more portions of theone or more simplified surfaces as one or more content placement layersbased, at least in part, on one or more viewpoints, wherein the one ormore content placement layers support a perspective-based rendering ofone or more content items associated with the one or more objects.
 2. Amethod of claim 1, wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or(3) at least one signal are further based, at least in part, on thefollowing: at least one determination of the one or more simplifiedsurfaces based, at least in part, on a mesh segmentation, wherein themesh segmentation is based, at least in part, on one or more surfaceprimitives.
 3. A method of claim 2, wherein the one or more surfaceprimitives include, at least in part, one or more planes.
 4. A method ofclaim 2, wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at leastone signal are further based, at least in part, on the following: atleast one determination of the one or more content placement layersbased, at least in part, on a clustering of the one or more surfaceprimitives, the one or more simplified surfaces, or a combinationthereof.
 5. A method of claim 1, wherein the (1) data and/or (2)information and/or (3) at least one signal are further based, at leastin part, on the following: a processing the one or more models, the oneor more objects, or a combination thereof to determine one or morerepresentational locations associated with the one or more simplifiedsurfaces; and at least one determination of the one or more contentplacement layers based, at least in part, on the one or morerepresentational locations.
 6. A method of claim 1, wherein the (1) dataand/or (2) information and/or (3) at least one signal are further based,at least in part, on the following: a processing of the one or moresimplified surfaces with respect to the one or more viewpoints todetermine visibility statistics with respect to the one or moresimplified surfaces; and at least one determination of the one or morecontent placement layers based, at least in part, on the visibilitystatistics.
 7. A method of claim 6, wherein the (1) data and/or (2)information and/or (3) at least one signal are further based, at leastin part, on the following: a segmentation of one or more of the one ormore simplified surfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, atleast in part, on the visibility statistics; and at least onedetermination of the one or more content placement layers based, atleast in part, on the one or more segmented surfaces.
 8. A method ofclaim 1, wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at leastone signal are further based, at least in part, on the following: aprocessing of the one or more simplified surfaces with respect to theone or more viewpoints to determine one or more non-occluded surfaces;and at least one determination of the one or more content placementlayers based, at least in part, on the one or more non-occludedsurfaces.
 9. A method of claim 8, wherein the (1) data and/or (2)information and/or (3) at least one signal are further based, at leastin part, on the following: one or more occluding objects associated withthe one or more viewpoints; a segmentation of one or more of the one ormore simplified surfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, atleast in part, on the one or more occluding objects; and at least onedetermination of the one or more content placement layers based, atleast in part, on the one or more segmented surfaces.
 10. A method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more content items rendered within the oneor more content placement layers maintain the perspectives of the one ormore content placement layers.
 11. An apparatus comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory including computer program code forone or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatusto perform at least the following, process and/or facilitate aprocessing of one or more models of one or more objects associated witha geographical area to cause, at least in part, a decomposition of theone or more models into one or more simplified surfaces; and cause, atleast in part, a selection of one or more portions of the one or moresimplified surfaces as one or more content placement layers based, atleast in part, on one or more viewpoints, wherein the one or morecontent placement layers support a perspective-based rendering of one ormore content items associated with the one or more objects.
 12. Anapparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:determine the one or more simplified surfaces based, at least in part,on a mesh segmentation, wherein the mesh segmentation is based, at leastin part, on one or more surface primitives.
 13. An apparatus of claim12, wherein the one or more surface primitives include, at least inpart, one or more planes.
 14. An apparatus of claim 12, wherein theapparatus is further caused to: determine the one or more contentplacement layers based, at least in part, on a clustering of the one ormore surface primitives, the one or more simplified surfaces, or acombination thereof.
 15. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatusis further caused to: process and/or facilitate a processing the one ormore models, the one or more objects, or a combination thereof todetermine one or more representational locations associated with the oneor more simplified surfaces; and determine the one or more contentplacement layers based, at least in part, on the one or morerepresentational locations.
 16. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein theapparatus is further caused to: process and/or facilitate a processingof the one or more simplified surfaces with respect to the one or moreviewpoints to determine visibility statistics with respect to the one ormore simplified surfaces; and determine the one or more contentplacement layers based, at least in part, on the visibility statistics.17. An apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus is further causedto: cause, at least in part, a segmentation of one or more of the one ormore simplified surfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, atleast in part, on the visibility statistics; and determine the one ormore content placement layers based, at least in part, on the one ormore segmented surfaces.
 18. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein theapparatus is further caused to: process and/or facilitate a processingof the one or more simplified surfaces with respect to the one or moreviewpoints to determine one or more non-occluded surfaces; and determinethe one or more content placement layers based, at least in part, on theone or more non-occluded surfaces.
 19. An apparatus of claim 18, whereinthe apparatus is further caused to: determine one or more occludingobjects associated with the one or more viewpoints; cause, at least inpart, a segmentation of one or more of the one or more simplifiedsurfaces into one or more segmented surfaces based, at least in part, onthe one or more occluding objects; and determine the one or more contentplacement layers based, at least in part, on the one or more segmentedsurfaces.
 20. An apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more contentitems rendered within the one or more content placement layers maintainthe perspectives of the one or more content placement layers. 21-48.(canceled)